Lost Impact
by Raikouhou
Summary: Just what happened 50 years ago on the Space Colony ARK? From his birth to his sealing, this is the tale of the young Shadow the Hedgehog.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I wrote this fanfic based on my personal understanding of the game timeline, as depicted in the Japanese versions of Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog. Additionally, the story is set in a time period we know little about, and therefore the characters portrayed may or may not be entirely accurate (either from lack of information or from having different circumstances as in the present).

Part 1 - Project

I

Professor Gerald Robotnik stood before his computer, hands clasped loosely behind him. There was a growing cramp in his left calf, but he ignored it. Instead, all of his attention was fixed on the screen in front of him, where the image of a dark-suited man, seated at a desk, stared back.

The scientist cleared his throat, rather nervously. "I'm afraid I didn't understand that," he began slowly. "You want me to try doing what?"

"We want you to create the 'Ultimate Life Form,'" the man replied, looking somewhat amused at Gerald's surprise. "An immortal being. We want to know if it's possible."

"What would you do if it was?"

The man shrugged. "That comes later. First comes this. We know you're highly proficient with biological processes."

"I suppose I am," Gerald admitted, glancing briefly at a framed photograph just below the edge of the screen.

"Due to your location on the Space Colony ARK, any experiments you may run will not affect the general population," the man continued. "Likewise, any disastrous failures can be easily covered up." He steepled his fingers and gazed at Gerald over them. "This, along with your certification as one of the best scientists in the world, would make you very well suited for this project."

Gerald nodded grudgingly. "I don't really like this...creating business, however. It's one thing to investigate illnesses and what causes them. It's quite another thing altogether to-"

"If you do successfully create a truly immortal being," the man cut in suddenly, "nothing should be able to destroy it, not even disease. I'd imagine that would interest you." Gerald stared at his screen, but the dark-suited man remained utterly expressionless. Slowly, the scientist tried making sense of the seemingly non-sequitur comment.

"Would...would doing this help my ongoing research?" he eventually asked, his voice wavering just slightly. The man smiled humorlessly.

"Perhaps. You may take however long as you like. We merely request reports every four months. This may increase in frequency, depending on your progress."

Gerald sighed, reached up, and removed his glasses. He slowly polished them for a moment with unsteady hands, then put them back on. "Alright," he said, reluctance still coloring his voice. "I'll do it."

The man's smile widened. "We'll entrust you with all responsibility for Project Shadow, then." The screen winked out.

II

Gerald shook his head as he examined the last test tube in the rack. Whatever had been in it was no longer visible, hidden behind a cloudy gray film that coated the inside surface of the glass. "This one's no good," he muttered, crossing a line off his clipboard.

"No luck, Professor?" One of his laboratory aides looked up from another rack, his young face filled with disappointment. "Nothing here, either."

"This whole batch is gone, sir," agreed another aide as she began collecting the samples for discarding. Gerald stared at his clipboard, frustrated.

"How do they expect me to create something immortal with no basis whatsoever?" he exclaimed, moving out of the way as the young woman walked over to his set of test tubes.

"You have absolutely no leads, sir?" the other aide asked, a little hopelessly. He slid the rack he had been inspecting across the table. "That's rather unlike you, Professor."

Gerald set his clipboard down on one of the lab tables, sighing. "The only reason they want me to do this is because currently there are no immortal beings, correct? Since there are none at present, the next best thing would be to take the longest-lived ones and attempt modifying them until they are." He took his glasses off and polished them, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "However, the most long-lived organisms we know of are a _cactus_ and a _jellyfish_." He resettled his spectacles on his nose, shaking his head again in exasperation. "What are we supposed to do with that?"

"I'll bring in the next set of samples, Professor," the woman called from the doorway as she left the lab.

"Thank you, I'll leave that in your hands." Gerald massaged one of his temples, then turned to the remaining aide. "Set up new test tubes. We continue. Perhaps we may still make a breakthrough with something unexpected."

"Yes, sir." The aide obediently went to the back of the room, where all of the equipment was kept. When Gerald left his clipboard on the table and began walking to the door, the younger man paused. "Where are you going, sir?"

"Out," came the reply. "I need a break."

III

The stars were bright that night. Gerald stood in the ARK's central main room, gazing through the huge window-walls. Normally, there would be people here, the other occupants of the Colony who weren't his scientists: families with connections to the government or military, but not directly involved in either. Some were here by choice, others because their relatives down on Earth feared for their safety. Still others were here because they couldn't live anywhere else...

Normally, the room would have other occupants. But at the moment, it was empty. He has requested to be left alone, to ease his growing headache. Although the room was the largest in the space colony, there were others similar in design; everyone in the room had readily agreed to relocate elsewhere.

_They're all such nice people,_ he thought fondly, taking in the view. A tiny movement caught his eye. At first he couldn't pinpoint it. A few seconds later, he realized there was one "star" that didn't stay in one place. _A comet? _he wondered. _Ah, yes...the Black Comet comes around here soon, if I remember correctly... _The large asteroid-like body only passed Earth every 50 years. Gerald couldn't help but feel fortunate. This would be the second time he saw the comet, although the last time it had come by, he was still on the Earth's surface-

There was no warning. One moment, he was alone, musing to himself about the comet's approach.

All of a sudden, a flash of light-

There was a gigantic..._thing_ next to him.

Gerald threw himself to the side, away from the thing. He lost his balance, tripped, and fell heavily on his side. As quickly as he could, he scrambled backward on all fours, his eyes never leaving the creature.

A small head sat atop broad shoulders. Many chains hung from its massive frame, trailing strangely wrought charms that hung down to the floor. Two arms, each with three-digit hands, were just barely visible under what seemed to be heavy robes. It didn't stand so much as hover, as it didn't appear to have any legs or feet. It was very dark in color, although whether it was black or a dark brown, he couldn't tell.

Three crimson eyes regarded him from that alien face. They were the only features it had; there was no visible nose or mouth.

Gerald could only stare at it, his mind numb with paralyzing fear. His one coherent thought was a tiny, almost whimpered, _How-?_

**Greetings.**

The scientist jerked, looking wildly around him. He had certainly heard a voice just now, a very deep, masculine voice, but... it had come from everywhere at once, and yet simultaneously from nowhere.

**You are a creature from this planet, are you not?** The thing regarded him intently, unmoving. **This planet called Earth.**

_It talks_, he thought faintly. _And in English..._ Out loud, he stammered, "Y-yes, I'm from Earth, I... what are you?" he blurted.

The thing chuckled, very obviously entertained. **I am called Black Doom in your language,** it replied. **I believe you humans refer to my home as the Black Comet.**

"You live on-? How did you-?" Gerald inwardly cringed at his own inability to speak in complete sentences. What an example of his species he had to be making of himself.

**If you are wondering how I came here, it is a simple enough feat for one like me.** The thing shifted, the chains draping from its figure clinking gently as they swayed back and forth from the movement. **You would know it as Chaos Control. Now-**

"Chaos Control?" He stared at it blankly. _That's...supposedly capable of warping time and space, isn't it? _"You can- But you don't have the Emeralds-" The thing quivered for a moment. Belatedly, he realized he probably shouldn't have interrupted it. But when it spoke again, it didn't sound particularly angry. In fact, it seemed curious.

**Emeralds? What do you speak of? Why would I need a mere stone from your planet?**

"They're not just normal emeralds, they-" He cut himself off and continued a little angrily, "Look, I don't know what you are, but you just...appeared in here without explanation. Why are you here?" When the thing didn't reply, he kept talking, very aware that his voice was slipping up a few pitches in his panic. "If you're here to kill us all, I'll have you know that we have armed-"

**I have no interest in that.** The creature sounded bored enough for him to believe it.** I simply wished to know what this...thing is.** It gestured around them with its hands. **It was not here the last time the Black Comet passed your planet. I am curious as to why it is here now.**

"Oh..." Gerald decided at that point it was impolite to continue talking from his sprawled position on the floor. Whatever else this Black Doom was, if it was here to slaughter them all, it wouldn't be bothering to talk to him in a reasonably civilized tone. He got slowly to his feet, dusting himself off. "This is the space colony ARK," he explained. "Everyone living here have reasons to not stay on Earth itself. We're mostly civilians, although my subordinates and I are scientists. There are a few people from the military, but they're on leave and visiting families." He fixed the thing with what he hoped was a meaningful stare. "You'd better be speaking the truth when you said you weren't here to kill us, since I think you realize now just how ill prepared we would be against an attack." _Seriously, why am I telling it this?_

The thing inclined its head. **I protect my promises,** it rumbled gravely. **You say you are a scientist? Why are you stationed on a mere space colony rather than in a suitable facility on your planet?**

"The higher-ups are concerned about disastrous failures," Gerald found himself replying, a hint of sourness creeping into his voice. "Given what they're getting me to do, I suppose it's not unwarranted."

**And what would that be?** The thing made no attempt to move from where it...floated. Gerald could tell he was letting down his guard around this seemingly passive creature, but it was most certainly _not_ human. He would have to take care dealing with it, _particularly_ since it appeared to be so docile. He thought for a moment, deciding how much to tell it.

"I'm...attempting to create an immortal life form," he admitted after a while, kneading his forehead. "I'd like to say it's quite impossible, but I have personal reasons to hope for its success." At this, Black Doom shifted again, his three red eyes glinting.

**I may be able to aid you in that endeavor,** it said, carefully.

"What?" Gerald was completely distracted from his thoughts of his failed experiments. "How?"

**I am considered "immortal" as you humans define it,** it replied. As Gerald stared at it in dumb astonishment, it continued, sounding amused again.** I have lived for many thousands of your years, human. I do not age. I could provide you with some of my blood, from which you may find the necessary means to endow a creature with my characteristics.** Gerald got the vague impression that it smiled, despite its lack of a mouth. **I would like...payment, however.**

Gerald was at a complete loss for words. "I- I would be most grateful for your help," he told it fervently. "If it's within my power, I would try my best to provide whatever you would want." He tried keeping the sudden elation and hope from his voice. He hadn't lied; he wasn't in this project for the money or fame or anything else. He was in it mostly for the sake of someone dear to him, and if this thing was speaking the truth about his immortality...

Black Doom regarded the scientist, his eyes gleaming with undiluted interest. **Tell me more of these...Chaos Emeralds of yours, scientist.**

IV

Sensing a long discussion, Gerald asked Black Doom to meet with him in his private office instead of a large spacious common room where anyone on the colony could walk in on them. As eager as he was for a chance at success, he did not want to send everyone into a panic. Black Doom was very agreeable and instantly transported himself to the proper location after a detailed description of where it was. Gerald, lacking that ability, made the trip on foot.

He passed one of his lab assistants in the hallway and sent him to let everyone else know the central room was available again. He also left instructions to begin preparing the DNA separation devices. There wasn't any proof that Black Doom would even have DNA, but everything on Earth, at least, depended on it. It was as good a place to start as any. The head scientist then forbade anyone from disturbing him in his office, claiming he needed more time to "think." His aides, though curious, promised obediently to not approach the office.

Thus prepared, he let himself into the room, careful that no one stood behind him when he opened the door. His office was small, with only a solid wooden desk in the back with his computer on it. Several metal cabinets lined the walls, filled with his many, carefully organized research notes. There were no windows.

Black Doom was already there, hovering next to the table. "Sorry to have kept you waiting," Gerald apologized. "Seeing as I still haven't introduced myself, my name is Gerald Robotnik." He paused when he was standing before his desk. "Would you mind if I, uh, seated myself?"

**Not at all.** Black Doom waited patiently as Gerald settled himself into his chair. **Now...**

Gerald knew what he wanted to discuss. "To be honest, we don't really know everything we'd like about the Chaos Emeralds," he began. "There are seven of them, identical to each other in all but color. We have noticed that they contain some sort of power, which appears limitless, but we have thus far failed to harness this power in any way." He sighed, a little disgruntled. "It is said that they can grant wishes and bring people's dreams into reality, but that's..." He waved his hand in the air dismissively.

**And Chaos Control? How are the Emeralds relevant?**

"As I said, we haven't had much success in working with them, but..." He paused, wondering how to best phrase his next words. "There was an incident a while back involving the Emeralds. The government is very secretive about this incident, but I gather that someone accidentally used them to trigger a Chaos Control, instantaneously and imperfectly warping himself and most of his surroundings several miles away into the middle of a crowded area, leading to much mayhem and disorder." He leaned back in his chair to look up at Black Doom. "To date, that's the only successful use of Chaos Control, so it was generally believed it was only possible to Chaos Control with the aid of an Emerald."

**Hmm.** Black Doom was silent for a few minutes. Gerald watched the opposite corner of his office, listening to the overly loud ticking of his wristwatch in the silence. **This is...intriguing,** the alien eventually said, drawing the scientist's attention back to him.** I would make a deal with you.**

"A deal of what sort?"

**Allow me to possess these Chaos Emeralds for a time,** came the reply. **I wish to know if what you say is true, and without physically in contact with them, I cannot do that.**

"I'm afraid I can't agree to that either," Gerald said regretfully. "The government is, understandably, very cautious about the status of the Emeralds, and so it keeps all of them under very heavy guard." He paused again, realizing he'd forgotten to mention something. "That is, when it can actually find them; I believe they currently only have two. The Emeralds are notoriously difficult to locate."

**I see.** Black Doom seemed disappointed. **In that case, I will aid you in creating your immortal life form. I do not know nor do I particularly care how long you will take in doing this. It is possible you will not finish before the Black Comet moves away again. However, **he continued, looming a little closer to Gerald's desk, **upon the Comet's return, I would like your creation to help me procure these Chaos Emeralds, as it is unlikely you will still be alive.**

"You seem very interested in the Emeralds," Gerald noted cautiously.

**That I am.**

"Might I ask for what reason?"

Black Doom regarded him silently. **I have wanted to permanently anchor the Black Comet somewhere for a long time,** he finally replied. **Having the Chaos Emeralds would give me the necessary power to do so.**

At that moment, Gerald had to suppress a shudder. Black Doom had no expressions to speak of, and his voice was the same bass rumble as before, yet something about his eyes had changed, somehow, and it made Gerald greatly uneasy. Trying to hide his discomfort, he attempted a smile. "Well, in that case, I hope you can accept my personal promise to uphold our deal. I am not entirely sure the project will succeed, so I can't really speak for my, uh, creation-"

**It will succeed, **Black Doom interrupted. There was a steely edge to his voice. Gerald decided to stay silent. After a moment, the alien spoke again, his tone once again amiable. **Do we have an agreement?** Upon receiving a nod, he reached out and selected a small glass beaker from the top of Gerald's cabinets, setting it in front of him on the desk. Using one of the charms trailing from his shoulders, he made a wide incision on one of his broad fingers, allowing a dark brownish-red liquid flow into the beaker. He stood there for a while, watching the glass. When it was approximately half full, he moved his hand away, concealing it once again in his clothing. **That should be sufficient.**

Gerald picked up the beaker and gazed at it. Here in his hands was his chance. His chance to make a difference in _her_ life. He had to make it count, make it work. He might never get another.

"Thank you," he said.

V

The following days were busy.

With the help of his aides, Gerald put samples of Black Doom's blood through several DNA purification processes, hoping to isolate something. Most of their efforts induced no change whatsoever, much to their consternation. After five days, Gerald instructed his assistants to bring out the stronger, more hazardous chemicals not normally used for biological purposes.

Not so surprisingly, they worked, lysing the things that passed for blood cells. Under a powerful microscope, they could detect a dark stringy substance floating aimlessly in the remaining liquid. Hoping it was genetic material, they very carefully filtered it out, keeping it in a separate test tube.

By the end of the week, they had gathered a half tube full. Gerald had his assistants continue isolating any more the substance they could find while he himself began attempts to sequence it.

Before even a day was over, he gave up.

The scientist pushed his seat away from the table with a disgruntled sigh, getting wearily to his feet. "Forget it," he grumbled, noticing the inquiring expressions of his aides. "It doesn't respond to anything I try on it. All I can conclude is that whatever this is, it's much too different from the DNA we know to use the same techniques on it."

"So it won't work, sir?" the young man asked timidly. Gerald shook his head.

"Never mind that. We might as well use this...substance for something." He paced along one wall of the lab, stroking his mustache. "How many animals do we have DNA samples for?"

"Uh, sir?" The young man looked confused. The young woman answered for him.

"Seven, sir. Eleven, if you count the ones we haven't completely sequenced."

"Bring in a sample from each species and add some of this mystery substance to them." Gerald picked up an empty test tube. "Hopefully they can combine in some constructive way that leaves them still usable."

"Yes sir," chorused the assistants, leaving the room together. Gerald was left alone in the lab, contemplating the tube of extracted material, his expression carefully unreadable.

VI

His aides found him still there several hours later. Both of them held several white tubes in their hands, made of plastic and with attached caps. They set the tubes down on the table in front of him, then stood back and waited for further instructions. He looked over the tubes carefully. Each was labeled with the type of animal it contained the genetic code for. Gerald raised an eyebrow as he read the labels. They ranged from the common creatures to more bizarre ones: rat, sparrow, pig, cow, sheep, dog, cat, lizard, squirrel, hedgehog, and seal.

"I understand the first five or so samples, as they are animals readily found and often used in experiments, but where did the rest come from?" he asked. His aides shrugged in unison.

"We're not sure, sir," the woman added.

"Even though these are samples of the species in general," the young man spoke up, "they still have DNA specific to the individual we took them from."

"Hopefully that won't matter much." Gerald returned his attention to the alien material in its single tube. "Well, each of you select a handful of DNA samples, take some of this," he gestured at the tube, "and mix them together. Let them sit for a few days, and if any are still viable, inject it into an enucleated egg and see how it develops." He paused. "We do have some, right?"

"If we don't, we can send for them, sir," the young woman assured him. She reached over the table and picked up the DNA samples for the rat, pig, cow, and sheep, carrying them to another table. The young man likewise took the sparrow, dog, cat, and squirrel tubes, leaving Gerald with the lizard, hedgehog, and seal. Gerald busied himself distributing the contents of his test tube equally into two other ones, then passed the two to his assistants.

As the young man and woman obediently began their work, Gerald selected the seal DNA and popped the cap open. He poured the tube's contents into a shallow dish, tapping it to free anything clinging to its sides. Then he selected a long glass dropper, dipping it into the alien substance and withdrawing a small amount. He dripped his sample into the dish as well, then placed the entire thing under a microscope.

He fiddled with the controls until the strands of DNA became visible. What he saw made him frown and lean closer to the screen. _That can't be right,_ he thought, trying to make sense of the tangled mess he was seeing. _It's almost as if the alien material was-_

His eyes widened and he sat abruptly back in his seat. At the same time, the young woman exclaimed, "Professor! We've run into some difficulties!"

"I've likely run into the same ones," he replied, suppressing a groan. Helplessly, he watched as the dark strings from Black Doom's blood wriggled across the screen, overtaking all of the material from the seal. He wasn't _quite_ sure what was happening, but it appeared as though it coated or fused with the DNA, which then disintegrated. Another failure.

"Why do you suppose it does that?" asked the young man. He had come to stand behind Gerald, staring at the screen. "We've just lost the pig and cat samples."

"The seal one is gone too," Gerald told him, shaking his head. "And I hate to say it, but I don't know what causes this...invasive reaction." He sighed, recalled Black Doom's conviction in the project's success, and decided that as the project head, he should be at least positive. "Carry on. We'll just have to hope we have something here that won't fall to pieces." _For that matter, _he added mentally to himself, _we'll have to hope there's something on Earth that won't._

VII

Gerald waited as his male assistant hauled open the incubation room's door. Even though the three samples from the day before were clearly done for, it had still taken them over 12 hours to completely dissolve. The three of them had added the alien substance to all of the other DNA samples and set them in the incubation room in an attempt to speed up the process.

Once the door was wide enough to admit them, Gerald led his aides into the room. His hopes, already low, sank further. Almost all of the lights indicating sample status were red. The young woman walked up to the sparrow sample, shook her head, and began removing it. The young man did likewise with the cow sample across from her. Gerald walked slowly up the aisle, heading for the sole green light.

He drew level and glanced at the label. Lizard. Lifting his gaze, he examined the small screen showing the DNA as his microscope had the previous day. The strands were completely coated with the material from Black Doom, but had not sustained any visible damage. Gerald smiled slowly.

"Prepare an enucleated egg, please," he instructed the young woman. She nodded, picked up the failed samples she had already gathered, and left the room. Gerald carefully lifted the lizard sample dish and followed her out, leaving the young man to complete removing the failed experiments.

Finally, something had gone right.

VIII

Humming a tune, Gerald wrote his report in high spirits. It had been almost a month since the lizard DNA had accepted the alien substance, and all was well. The creature had developed without a single hitch, in half the time lizard embryos normally took, and accepted testing quite readily.

In appearance, it looked like a squat-legged, orange and gray lizard with round black eyes and a few short bristles around its mouth. It had crawled out of its incubation chamber the size of Gerald's hand; now it was roughly the size of a dog. It could not speak, instead making a variety of grumbling sounds, but it was obviously intelligent and could understand whatever they told it. Several more scientists had come from Earth to help, now that the project was finally underway. One of his new assistants had taken to calling it the Biolizard, a nickname that quickly spread among his staff.

The results from the last few weeks of testing had been favorable. Samples from the lizard had finally confirmed that it was no longer aging. Next to come would be tests for disease resistance, then exploration of its abilities. It was already amusing the lab workers by spitting small deep purple orbs into the air that caused a rather pleasant tingle when touched. What those orbs really were, no one knew yet, but they didn't appear to be dangerous.

Gerald finished the last sentence in his report and was in the midst of adding his signature to the bottom of the page when a splintering noise made him stop. He had heard too many glass instruments shatter in his years as a scientist to not recognize the sound. The startled gasp and scream that followed the splintering caused him to leap out of his office chair and run for the lab as fast as he could.

Just before he reached the door, he heard a deep roar above the sounds of human panic. Seizing the door handle, he hauled the door open and stared.

The Biolizard, just earlier that morning small enough to pick up with a little effort, was now almost the size of an adult human. It roared again, lashing out with its tail in agitation and breaking another dozen glass beakers. Some of the lab assistants were trying to calm it, yelling to be heard, while others helped a young woman out of the room. She looked as though she had been sprayed with glass fragments.

Gerald grabbed the arm of one aide as he passed by. "What happened?" he demanded.

"We don't know," the young man wailed, wringing his hands. "It was fine up until a minute or two ago. Then it suddenly started growing, really fast, and making distressed noises." He tugged hard on Gerald's arm and ducked, bringing the senior scientist down with him. What looked suspiciously like part of a chair flew over their heads as the clamor behind them grew louder. "We don't know what caused it, or when it's going to stop-"

Silence fell, very suddenly. The bewildered young man also stopped speaking, his eyes wide. Gerald got back to his feet hurriedly and returned to the doorway.

His staff was arranged around the room in a semicircle, sporting injuries from flying lab equipment. Most of the lab was in shambles; thankfully there were no pieces of expensive equipment, and everything would be easily replaced. The Biolizard itself was lying motionless on the ground, larger than one of the lab tables. One woman approached it cautiously, then knelt and rested her hand against its chest.

"Its heart is failing," she announced. "If we want to keep it alive, it'll need temporary life support at the very least."

For perhaps a minute, no one moved or spoke. Gerald swallowed a few times before he could talk. "Find a way to move it," he instructed them. "Move it to the largest vacant room available. Hurry," he added, since the lizard was still clearly growing at a slower pace. He beckoned to the woman who had made the announcement. "You, come with me. We'll need to find something suitable for it."

His assistants hesitated only a moment. Then they all leapt into action, moving tables out of the path between the lizard and the door, or fashioning a giant makeshift stretcher to carry it with. Gerald himself led the woman to the other half of the lab, drowning out his emotions by trying to remember where they had life support equipment.

IX

It was late at night before Gerald stumbled back into his office, feeling drained. By the time he had found the life support systems and reached the room his helpers had moved the lizard to, it had already grown so large that the traditional setup would not work. He'd had no choice but order his more handy assistants to convert the equipment on the spot, surgically attaching the support unit to the lizard's back and running two thin tubes to a cap on its head to let it breathe.

Gerald flopped into his chair, gazing morosely at the report he had written earlier. His eyes lingered on a phrase midway down the first page, proclaiming "great success." He scowled, reached out, took hold of his report, and tore it in half, then tossed the pages into the wastebasket. Some great success this was, when his creation would need life support for the rest of its immortal life to survive.

He found his office much too small to pace properly in and left, wandering through the lab. His assistants had already cleaned it of all broken glass, and the tables were more or less back in their places. He nearly left for the ARK's main common room again when he noticed the door to the incubation room. The light above the door was still red, indicating it was in use.

He frowned. After the Biolizard had come out of it, that room had been empty. Why was the light still red? _Someone must have forgotten to turn it off,_ he decided, making for the door. _I'd better fix that._

The sight of the empty incubation chambers made him melancholy all over again. Shaking his head, he made for the control panel on the opposite side of the room. He reached out to flip the status light switch when a flicker at the corner of his eye caught his attention.

A green flicker.

Turning, he saw that one chamber was still occupied. A single dish lay within it, its light a dim green. As he watched, the light grew brighter, flashed twice, then faded to its original intensity. _We need to get that light bulb switched,_ was his first thought. His second was, _Where did that dish come from?_

A closer look triggered his memory. This was one of the DNA sample dishes from weeks before! Why was one still here? He glanced at the screen and saw with a jolt that it also displayed whole DNA strands coated in dark alien matter. Another combination had succeeded, and he hadn't noticed.

As though afraid it would break in his hands, Gerald removed the dish from its chamber, barely registering its label. Walking slowly, he took it with him out to the lab, searching for where the enucleated eggs were stored.

Not many people got second chances. He would make the most out of his.

X

It was hard not to feel hopeful.

The hedgehog DNA-for the hedgehog sample it had been-was just as stable as the lizard's, if not more so. By the end of the first day in an incubation chamber, the zygote was well into the process of division, nearing the blastocyst stage.

The next morning, however, Gerald was startled to find a visible embryo where the blastocyst had been. It even had a primitive heart. Development normally would not progress that quickly overnight, and he experienced misgivings. What if this creature ended up the same as the Biolizard? He didn't have any other samples left. He set his worries aside, however, and kept an eye on the embryo's growth.

Two days later, on day four, Gerald was becoming confused. The DNA sample had definitely been from a hedgehog. He had double-checked the label to be sure before injecting it into the egg. Yet the growing embryo was vaguely humanoid in form, bipedal instead of quadrupedal, and had fingers showing at the ends of its forelimbs.

On day eight, it was clear that the fetus was not a pure hedgehog. It was significantly larger, for one, and definitely humanoid. At the same time, it had a hedgehog's long nose, and its face structure was vastly different from both of the species it resembled. One of Gerald's original assistants, the young man, suggested the physical changes were because of the "mystery substance" they had added to the DNA. As there was no other explanation they could think of, Gerald accepted that as the most likely reason.

On day nine, Black Doom appeared.

Gerald was alone in the incubation room, gazing at his creation. It had grown another few centimeters overnight and now had a fine coat of something very much like fur all over its body. The fur grew longer on its head and back, stiffening to a spine-like density. It was mostly black. Streaks of red flowed along its arms, its legs, and the spikes on its head, and a tuft of white adorned its chest. Only the skin around its nose and mouth was left bare.

Once again, without any warning other than a brief flash of light, Black Doom was hovering beside him. He saw the alien's reflection on the glass and turned to greet him. After their meeting in Gerald's office, Black Doom had occasionally appeared to check on the project's progress. He had, however, become less amiable, more direct, and infinitely more unreadable. Gerald could no longer bring himself to trust this being, regardless of his help.

**It goes well with this one,** Black Doom commented, contemplating the incubation chamber. The creature within stirred, then fell still once more. **I believe you can entrust our promise to it.**

"We still don't know if it's stable," Gerald muttered. "The Biolizard didn't exhibit any defects until around three weeks after it was..." He fumbled for a word; "born" hardly described a creature freed from an incubation chamber.

**Yes, I saw what became of that.** Black Doom hung silent in the air for a moment longer. **This one shall be different. You may recall that the prototype did not share my coloration.** He tapped the glass with a finger, gently. **This one does.**

_I suppose you think that means something,_ Gerald thought, but he stayed quiet.

**I have come to inform you that the Black Comet is leaving your planet,** Black Doom finally said. **It is already testing the limit of my Chaos Control to come to you now. I must depart immediately to avoid becoming stranded.** He turned toward Gerald and dipped in what might have passed for a bow in a normal person. Gerald inclined his head in response. **Remember your promise. Bring me the Chaos Emeralds by this day, fifty years from now.** With another flash, he was gone. Gerald couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, feeling some pressure lift from his shoulders.

The very next day, the tenth day after incubation began, the creature awoke.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2 - Shadow

XI

Unlike the Biolizard, the hedgehog could talk.

Gerald had established early on that the creature was male, or at least had a masculine voice. It wasn't as deep as Black Doom's, but not high enough to sound feminine. However, he didn't sound much like the near infant he was, either, instead possessing a voice similar to that of a teenager or young adult. The effect was quite disorienting.

The creature-Gerald couldn't easily think of him as a hedgehog-stood at exactly 100 centimeters tall, and at 35 kilograms was much heavier than his height suggested. He seemed to be withdrawn, only speaking to reply to questions that he couldn't answer with gestures, and remained silent the rest of the time. Gerald noticed this, but refused to let himself be concerned for the creature. He didn't want to be crushed with disappointment if this experiment failed as well.

Instead, he busied himself with tests. Daily, he had his assistants take samples from the creature. These were then analyzed cell by cell, their condition recorded, and then compared to previous readings. After a suitable time period of no change, the creature would be determined non-aging. The Biolizard had taken over three weeks to ascertain its status as a non-aging entity; Gerald expected to take at least that long with this new subject.

Merely one week later, he was reconsidering his decision. The Biolizard at least had shown signs of further growth, increasing in size until week two; this hedgehog had not. He was the exact same size and weight as he had been the first time they had taken his measurements, and the samples they took from him were likewise identical. The cells they kept in culture never divided either, implying his body didn't regularly replace cells and further implying that it didn't need to.

Finally, thirteen days into testing, he called for a halt. When his assistants looked at him quizzically, he told them, "You should have also seen from our data that he's not aging or growing at all. There's more than enough proof that he can be considered ageless at this point. Take tomorrow off. We'll move onto disease testing afterward." The assistants voiced their assent and began cleaning up their work stations.

Gerald walked to where the hedgehog was sitting on a footstool, knees tucked under his chin and fingers interlaced above his ankles. He watched the scientist approach, unmoving except for his eyes. Gerald fought down the chill along his spine whenever he met the creature's eyes. They were the same vivid red as Black Doom's had been, and just as unreadable. Not allowing his unease to show in his voice or manner, he bent down to the hedgehog's level.

"We're done testing for today," he told him. "You have the rest of today and tomorrow to do whatever you want." The creature blinked at him. "I'm sure you'll think of something to occupy yourself with." Straightening up, Gerald looked around the room. Most of his aides were already gone, and the few remaining were chatting with each other as they walked to the door. He looked back down at the hedgehog, then reached down and gave him a gentle push on the back. The creature stood and also walked to the door, then stopped outside.

When Gerald had finished a final check of the room, turned off the lights, and closed the door, the hedgehog was still standing there, looking down the hallway after the chatting aides. Watching him, Gerald was reminded of a certain small girl standing at a window in a pristine room, gazing longingly at the children outside playing with each other.

He sighed, resigned. He could probably have remained detached if his creation had been more like a real hedgehog. He _would_ have managed it if it were as utterly expressionless as the alien whose blood it had been created from. But not when it was a humanoid being. Not when it was clearly lonely and unhappy.

He extended a hand toward the hedgehog. He looked at it, then up at Gerald, and didn't take it. "Come along," the scientist told him, moving off. "There's someone I think you should meet."

XII

The hallways they went down now were new to the hedgehog. He looked around them as they walked, taking in the sights. The man in front of him moved at a steady pace, looking nowhere but straight in front of him. He appeared to be deep in thought. The silence suited the hedgehog; he could observe their surroundings in peace.

Minutes later, the man stopped in front of a door and tapped on it with a knuckle. "Are you in there, Maria?" he called. The hedgehog heard a muffled reply. The man smiled and turned the doorknob, letting both of them into the room.

It was very different from the rooms he had seen so far. For one, it was much smaller. A narrow steel table sectioned off approximately a third of the room. A similar counter ran the length of the back wall, with a sink in the middle and spaces for what looked like two metal cupboards. The counter also rounded one corner, with a strange device positioned midway between the corner and the end of the counter. It had a large windowed door on the front of it, several concentric circles on top, and five knobs above the door.

A person with yellow hair was standing at the sink, drying her hands on a towel. She was shorter than everyone else he'd seen, and wearing different colors: light and dark blue rather than white and gray or brown. Her shirt had puffy sleeves, and her skirt ended at the knee. She was smiling at them.

"Oh, grandfather! I haven't seen you in a while," she greeted the man, walking around the table to hug him. "How is your project coming along?"

"With lots of ups and downs," he replied, smiling warmly down at her. "Recently I've had some progress, however." He turned toward the hedgehog. "I've brought him to see you, actually." The girl turned to look at him, too. He looked up at her; although she was shorter than the other humans, she was still much taller than he was.

"How nice!" she exclaimed, crouching down. "What's your name?" she asked him.

He blinked.

"I haven't thought about giving him a name yet," the man confessed, sounding a little embarrassed. "He's been just 'Project Shadow subject #2' to me."

"Why not just call him Shadow?" The girl didn't wait for an answer, turning instead to the hedgehog still standing in front of her. "Would you like that?"

He shrugged.

"Well it's a better name than 'Project Shadow subject #2,'" the girl declared, raising her eyebrows at her grandfather. The man smiled sheepishly. "I'll call you Shadow from now on, alright?" She stood up again. "Grandpa, it's not even past noon yet. Are you done with today's work already?"

"Yes, actually. We're ready to go to the next stage of testing. The rest of today and all of tomorrow is off." He indicated Shadow. "I thought, since he's never been outside of the laboratory, you could keep him company."

"I'd be glad to." She offered her hand to the hedgehog. As before, he merely stared at it. Patiently, she reached down and caught hold of his own hand. "Want to help me with something, Shadow? I could use another pair of hands."

He shrugged again and allowed her to lead him to the counter.

XII

Two days later, Shadow was back in the lab. The scientists were taking fewer samples from him now, since they already had the samples from the previous tests. They were now recording the health of the harvested cells when transplanted onto petri dishes containing various bacterial and viral cultures. The head scientist, the girl's grandfather, had estimated it would take at least another week to test all of the cultures they had on the ARK, and perhaps another week to test cultures he had requested from Earth, of rarer diseases.

Shadow wasn't very interested in these tests. They didn't tell him anything. He was, however, coming to enjoy any time spent with the yellow-haired girl. She talked to him, a lot, even when he didn't respond to anything she said. It was nice listening to someone talk to him, knowing she was chatting for the fun of it and not just telling him to do something all the time.

She told him her name was Maria Robotnik, that she had just turned twelve years old, and that she had something called NIDS (which apparently meant Neuro-Immuno Deficiency Syndrome). Having NIDS meant she couldn't live with other people normally and needed a very sterile living environment. That was why her grandfather had brought her to the ARK, which was in outer space.

When the head scientist noticed Shadow was once again seated on his footstool, looking aimlessly around the room, he walked over. "If you'd like, you can wander around the ARK," he said. "In fact, go ahead. It'll get the colony's other residents used to you. Maria can take you on a tour, if you ask her."

Shadow decided to chance asking a question for the first time. "What about the testing?" From the man's startled expression, he hadn't expected a question from him.

"We, ah, have enough samples for now," he eventually answered. "From now on, check in at the lab. If and when we need more samples, we'll ask you to stay for a while. Otherwise, you're free to go anywhere you like." He paused, then added, "I suggest you ask Maria to take you to the main common room at least once. The view is excellent, and you've been looking at walls for far too long."

Shadow thought about it for a while, then nodded.

After that, his days were far less monotonous. Maria was thrilled to act as tour guide and introduced him to nearly everyone on the space colony. Most of them, after overcoming their initial surprise at seeing a sentient, oversized, bipedal hedgehog, were friendly enough, although he detected some caution in the way they spoke to him. However, one boy-a boy with one blue eye and one green-didn't even try _pretending_ to be friendly. Every time he saw Shadow, the boy would always shrink back and try to either hide or leave the room.

The boy's behavior puzzled Shadow. He finally asked Maria, "Why does that boy always act scared of me?"

Maria sighed, washing her hands. They were in her kitchen again, which he found out no one else ever used. "That I don't really know, but if I had to guess, I would say you're not really being polite enough. You tend to stare, and it kind of makes people feel like you're not very friendly, sometimes."

"Polite?"

"It's always a good idea to be nice to people," she explained. "It lets them know you like them, or respect them. It also tells them you want to be treated nicely too. If you act mean toward everyone, they're not going to want to treat you nicely. They'll treat you the same way you treat them."

He considered it. It did make sense. "Then I should be more polite to people." He made it a statement.

"That would be great." Maria smiled down at him. "Now, how about I teach you a new recipe?"

XIV

The farther he got with his research on the hedgehog, the more apprehensive Gerald became. None of the bacterial cultures had managed to affect his cells in any way, and the viruses didn't seem to be able to infect them. He had not yet tried every disease he had access to, but he was sure none of the others would prove any more effective. It did indeed seem Shadow was completely immune to any affliction Earth could throw at him.

Additionally, the cells were still not aging. If they were stimulated enough, they could divide, but upon reaching a mature size, they simply continued to function indefinitely. Gerald had never heard of such a thing happening. Of course, if he were trying to create an immortal being, such a result was desirable, but the professor couldn't shake his feeling of unease whenever he glimpsed the tidy charts of identical data readings.

He told himself several times that it wasn't Shadow himself who unnerved him. No, the hedgehog was benign enough. For all that he sounded like an adult, he was still practically a newborn, his mind young and open. With Maria taking care of him, Gerald had no doubt Shadow would grow to be as caring as she was.

It was Black Doom, the one Shadow inherited his characteristics from, that he worried about. That alien had already had millennia to forge his own ideas of the universe and his place in it, and Gerald was convinced he would not like the eventual conclusion. During his visits to the ARK before the Comet moved too far away, Black Doom had seemed a trifle too interested in their planet for someone who had been passing it by for thousands of years, asking questions about the world population, demographics, typical food chains, and so on. When asked why he wished to know those things, he always claimed simple curiosity.

In those brief discussions, Gerald was able to learn some things as well. Black Doom had confided to him some information regarding himself and his offspring, collectively named the Black Arms. Gerald learned that each Black Arms alien was more or less spawned directly from Black Doom himself, although they had a wide variety of adult forms that didn't even faintly resemble their parent. All of them lived on the Black Comet, which was otherwise devoid of other life.

Black Doom had neglected to mention the food source of his spawn.

Gerald was beginning to get some idea of what Black Doom might want the seven Chaos Emeralds for. In case his suspicions proved to be true, he began planning a weapon that could be used to counter the Black Arms, to be powered by the very objects they coveted. Although they were not his forte, he soon developed a design he was satisfied with. Carefully, secretly, he began wiring its main control panel, stationed in the exact center of the ARK's main computer room. No one went there aside from himself, since the space colony's important functions could be accessed from the smaller computer in the largest common room.

He was in the midst of devising a method to integrate his new weapon into the surface of the ARK one morning when a small hand laid itself on his elbow. He jerked and looked down, finding Maria standing next to him. Shadow trailed behind her, looking curiously up at him. As he stammered greetings to them both, he surreptitiously looked the hedgehog up and down in surprise. In the one week since meeting Maria, Shadow appeared to have opened up. His eyes, although still giving no hint of his thoughts, were less cold, and his expression was content rather than cautious or blank.

"We were wondering what you were doing, Grandfather," Maria told Gerald after he'd finished talking. "You've been sleeping late and waking early too often of late." She caught sight of his scribblings on the table. "What's this?"

"Oh, ah...it's a, a..." he stammered, finding himself at a loss for words. Not something that happened often.

Shadow stood on his toes in order to get a better look. "It looks like a weapon," he told Maria. "A cannon, perhaps." Gerald stared at the hedgehog.

"Where did you learn about cannons?" he wanted to know. Shadow shrugged.

"The word felt right," he replied. Gerald shook his head, then caught sight of Maria's expression. It looked accusing.

"No, no, the government isn't making me create weapons for them," he reassured her hastily. "They've upheld that end of the agreement. I, uh, just thought the ARK ought to have some form of self-defense, since right now it doesn't have any."

"That's good," Maria breathed in relief. "They know how much you hate violence, Grandpa, but I was afraid..." She shook her head, then smiled again. "Well, if this is going to protect everyone on the space colony, is there anything we can do to help?"

"Help?" repeated Gerald, once more left speechless.

"You do tend to try doing everything by yourself, Grandfather," giggled Maria. "It was Shadow's idea, actually. He noticed first that you were losing sleep over something, and that you were lost in thought a lot of the time in the lab, even if it didn't seem you were doing anything." Gerald blinked, glancing again at the hedgehog. Shadow was studiously examining the nearest table leg, not looking at them.

_Who would've thought he was still that observant,_ Gerald mused. _Although I suppose that's not surprising...what, did I expect him to become less observant the more he got used to us?_ "That was...nice of you, Shadow," he finally managed to say.

"Just trying to be of help, Professor," Shadow replied, meeting his eyes with a small, hesitant smile. Gerald chuckled. Before he really knew what he was doing, he had reached down and patted Shadow on the head. Shadow jerked and looked startled. Gerald felt rather surprised, himself. Maria simply looked pleased.

"Ah...That was help enough," he muttered awkwardly. "Now, uh...would you two like to accompany me to the main part of the ARK? Now that this isn't a secret anymore, I'd like to recruit a few people. What I have in mind is quite complex."

XV

As it turned out, Shadow was more helpful than he thought he would be. As the shortest mature member of their construction group-mentally, he wasn't an adult, but he wasn't a careless child either-he was able to get into much smaller places than the humans could. As a result, some of the wiring and construction in the tightest places were left up to him. He learned quickly, at a rate that didn't particularly startle him but clearly astounded the lab workers.

They quickly discovered that Shadow was physically capable of feats no one else could manage. The Professor's reaction was nearly comical when the hedgehog simply picked up and walked off with a stack of steel beams twice as long as he was tall. Quick measurements afterward soon revealed his limits. He could lift objects up to nearly three times his mass, and he could still move those that were even heavier.

The Professor had wanted to use the spire on the face of the ARK as the nozzle for his cannon, since it already had desirable dimensions. That was when they discovered that one of Shadow's innate abilities was to survive in outer space without any transition zone or special equipment. It had been completely accidental; one moment, he was crawling down a narrow duct the length of the spire, checking for breaches. The next moment, he was outside, on the surface of the space colony itself.

Everyone inside the colony had panicked until he managed to convince them that he was fine and that he hadn't really noticed anything wrong before falling from an unnoticed trap door. His job for the rest of that day was to seal the trap door so no one going in that direction would incur the same fate, with much more fatal results. Life went back to normal afterwards, but Shadow now also did all necessary construction or repair on the outside of the ARK.

The Professor had given up by now on the disease testing, since it was obvious nothing worked. Instead, he wanted to know what Shadow could do. Survive in outer space, certainly, and lift objects much heavier than himself, but the man believed that perhaps those might not be his only abilities. He didn't have to go to the lab at all, now, unless he had found out he could do something new and wished to report it. Nothing of the sort had happened since the accident in the ARK's spire.

When he wasn't helping to build the cannon, he was spending time with Maria. She still told him mostly stories, but he also often kept her company in the kitchen. Having NIDS meant she couldn't eat food prepared by other people, in case they transferred something to her. As a result, she cooked all of her own meals. While she worked, she would teach him how to make various things, from light meals to snacks, that he could then offer to the scientists or to the residents on the ARK.

One day, he was preparing egg and cucumber sandwiches on one end of the counter while she mixed batter for a loaf of bread near the stove. He had just placed the last sandwich on a large platter of them when he heard a faint thud and Maria's gasp. He whirled around. The girl had knocked her elbow against the edge of the counter, causing her to drop the mixing bowl she held. It was her favorite one, a delicate blue and white porcelain thing. If it hit the floor, it would definitely shatter.

He wasn't sure what happened after that.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the bowl fell, tipping to one side, while Maria tried to catch it. It slipped out from between her outstretched hands. He reached for it as well, knowing he was much too far away but not wanting any of those shards hurting Maria. With her condition, it may well be fatal.

The next thing he knew, he was standing next to her, his arms wrapped around the bowl. Feeling confused and slightly disoriented, he looked down at it, then back up at Maria. She was staring at him in bewilderment. He glanced behind him and saw his platter of sandwiches, nearly two yards from where he was now. Tentatively, he offered Maria the bowl.

She accepted it and placed it on the counter. Shadow gazed at the floor, not sure if he'd done the right thing or, for that matter, what he had even done. He could tell Maria was watching him.

"Well," she finally said. "I suppose we should go see Grandpa." He looked up at her; she was smiling. "I'm sure you haven't done _that_ before, or you wouldn't look like a bird that just discovered it could fly." Taking his hand, she led him out. He followed without resisting, still dazed.

XVI

It was frustrating for a while. The Professor asked him many questions about what had happened, cross-referencing his replies with Maria's observations. Apparently he had been standing at his counter. The next moment, he had disappeared, then reappeared in time to catch the bowl. Both his disappearance and reappearance were marked by brief flashes of blue light and a soft fizzing sound. The Professor had been very excited to learn this and tried to get Shadow to replicate his teleporting feat.

That was the frustrating part.

Shadow stared at the chair halfway across the room, trying to call to mind what it had been like. He came up blank, repeatedly. "I'm sorry, Professor," he said, exasperated, "but I don't remember anything at all. I was just..._there_."

The Professor sighed and took his glasses off. Shadow had noticed a while ago that the Professor tended to polish his glasses absentmindedly whenever he wanted time to think. After a moment, he suggested, "Well, never mind what it felt like...what did _you_ feel like? Any particular emotions? What were you thinking?"

Shadow considered it. "I was thinking I didn't want Maria to be upset if she broke her bowl, and I didn't want her to maybe hurt herself when it shattered," he recalled slowly, staring at his hands. "I wanted to catch the bowl before it fell, so none of that would happen." He looked up at the Professor. "And then that's what I did."

"Hrm..." The Professor thought about this for a while longer. "What if you thought with all your might that you wanted to be in that chair? Could you do that?"

"I can try," admitted Shadow, fixing his gaze on the chair once more. He blotted out his surroundings, the spectators, and even Maria, and focused entirely on that one piece of furniture. When there was absolutely nothing else on his mind, he willed himself to move to the chair.

He blinked, feeling suddenly dizzy. The hard tile floor under his feet was gone, replaced by smooth wood. He was perched on the seat of the chair, facing the direction he had come from, and he could see the Professor and, farther back, Maria. They were both beaming proudly. "Congratulations," the man called, applauding. "That was your first deliberate use of Chaos Control."

Shadow got down from the chair, asking, "Chaos Control?"

"A mysterious power that seems to allow its user to instantaneously warp time and space. In other words, it allows teleportation." The Professor jotted a few notes onto his clipboard. "We don't know very much about it, but perhaps with your help, we can learn more." He added in a confidential tone, "You're likely the only creature alive on or around the planet that can use it, you know."

Shadow looked down at himself. "Me, Professor?" he asked doubtfully.

"Oh, Shadow, you're much more talented than you think you are," the Professor replied cheerfully. "Now, let's try that again, but this time the chair will be on the opposite side of the room."

XVII

It wasn't long before Shadow could get wherever he wanted in less time than it took to blink. He no longer needed to think so hard about what he wanted to be doing, either. People began asking him to fetch things they left behind, or to deliver messages both written and spoken, or to check on things they were too busy to examine themselves.

He began to perfect his control over his strange power, jumping to locations not within his line of sight. He once managed to Chaos Control into a room he had never seen before, simply by using descriptions that the Professor gave him. The slight dizziness and exhaustion that he felt immediately after a warp quickly went away as he continued to practice.

Once he was confident in his ability to warp around, he began trying different things. Time had always seemed a little distorted whenever he used Chaos Control. By focusing on that distortion, he found that he was also capable of manipulating time in an area, slowing it down to a standstill if he concentrated hard enough. He then developed two methods of teleportation; one by warping space and moving himself somewhere, the other by freezing time and going somewhere else before releasing it. To other people watching, the two methods looked the same; he still vanished and reappeared somewhere else with twin flashes of blue light.

Within a matter of days, he was attempting to control both space and time at once. The results were not very heartening; he would do one or the other, or lose focus completely and do nothing whatsoever. He was still trying the combined warping method when the Professor found him one morning. "I have something to show you," he said when the hedgehog finally noticed and greeted him. "Come by the lab later today, when you have time to. I think you'll find it interesting." With a nod, the Professor left.

Deciding to satisfy his curiosity rather than frustrate himself any further, Shadow left for the lab after only fifteen more fruitless minutes at his activity. The first thing he saw after walking into the large room was a tight knot of people congregated at one of the lab tables, talking to one another in lowered but excited voices.

When they noticed him, the lab assistants parted to give him a clear view of the table. On it was a gleaming green gemstone, its top face hexagonal, and the sides tapering to a point at the bottom. It rested on a small cushion in a glass case.

The Professor, who was seated at the table next to the gem, looked up and smiled. "This," he began, picking up the case, "is a Chaos Emerald. One of only two that we know of. There are seven in total and are extremely hard to find; the whereabouts of the other five are still unknown."

He set the case down again. "Through various entreaties and favors, I've managed to convince the government that I need one of the Chaos Emeralds for my research. I've had it brought here so that you can take a look at it." He paused, as though thinking of the right words to say. "You can use Chaos Control freely, even though up to this point it had never been used without an Emerald. Perhaps _with_ one, you would be capable of even more."

Shadow stared at the Professor, blinked, then glanced at the gem. "What do you want me to do?" he eventually asked.

The Professor raised his hands in a "I don't know" gesture. "Anything you want, as long as it doesn't risk destroying the Emerald. Admittedly, no one has done anything that has been able to damage it just yet, so don't worry about that." The Professor flipped a small catch on the case, opening it and lifting out the gem. "Try holding it, first."

Shadow accepted the gem, cradling it between his hands. He gazed into its deep green depths, trying to see or feel something. Something like a spark caught his eye, and he watched as it spiraled toward the center of the Emerald. It twinkled briefly, then flashed.

A tingling sensation shot through his body, starting at his hands and washing up his arms. He squeezed his eyes shut just as the Emerald blazed with light, blinding most of the people nearby. He heard them cry out and stumble backward, then heard some crashes as they knocked chairs over.

He felt full to bursting with...with...he didn't know what. It wasn't very painful, but it was too overwhelming, slamming itself against mental barriers he hadn't been aware of and clamoring to get out. He struggled to restrain it for perhaps half a minute, the Emerald still in his grip glowing brighter every second. Then he simply couldn't.

The Emerald's light changed abruptly from pale green to white-gold, streaming in intangible ribbons from its source. Between the myriad bands of light, Shadow saw glimpses of the lab around him, of the kitchen Maria used, of various locations on the ARK. He also saw scenery that he had never even dreamed of; a smooth sheet of water as far as he could see, a long, narrow street surrounded by tall buildings, a place with nothing but trees for miles around.

He also saw things he couldn't explain. A small blond girl watching stars fly past her window. A man with dark clothing at a desk on a screen. A moving star with a tail in the sky that suddenly disappeared. The Professor typing madly at a computer.

So many images, hundreds of them, flitted through the gaps between the Emerald's light. He lost track of them and of what meaning they might have, exhausted by their sheer numbers. He wanted them to go away, so that he could think again.

As suddenly as it had appeared, the light vanished. Shadow dropped to his knees, letting go of the Emerald and letting it roll a short way from him. The floor, he then noticed, was charred black. Wearily, he looked around.

Most of the lab was in ruins. The chairs and desks nearest him had been completely destroyed, reduced to twisted fragments scattered in a wide circle. They were still smoking faintly. Farther away, they looked burned, despite being made of metal, and chunks had been blown out from them. The walls were pocked with roughly circular burn marks and shrapnel, and the charred sections of the floor made a large sunburst pattern with him at the center.

Shadow got carefully to his feet. He then saw that the humans had all fled the room and managed to shut the heavy door behind them, which was also badly damaged. Through the cracked glass windows, he saw them peering anxiously in, trying to see if the commotion was over. Once they saw that it was, they inched the door open again and crept back into the room. They began looking around, checking the extend of the damage. Shadow wandered over to the doorway.

The Professor was seated just outside, elbows on knees and face in hands. He was trembling slightly. Shadow approached him and asked, "Professor?"

The man jerked and looked up at him, involuntarily shrinking away a little when he saw who it was. _He's afraid of me,_ Shadow realized mournfully. He lowered his eyes.

"Ah..." The Professor cleared his throat. "That was...extraordinary, Shadow, I...I've never seen anything like it." He fumbled with his glasses, polishing them shakily, then rose. "I, uh, shall have to take note of this. Please, excuse me." He started down the hallway.

Shadow remained gazing at the floor, feeling miserable. He heard the Professor's hurried footsteps retreating, then pause. "Oh, and please, don't go near the Emerald until we know it's safe to," the man called, then left Shadow alone in the hall.

XVIII

Gerald staggered into his office, trying to contain his fear. He made it to his desk and sank into his chair, still shaking uncontrollably.

_That Shadow..._ he thought, then shook his head. No, it was not fair to blame Shadow for this. None of them had any idea what would've happened just by letting him hold a Chaos Emerald. But there should have been plans, safeguards, in case things went wrong...and things did certainly go very wrong.

Their first sign of trouble had been when light suddenly poured from the Emerald. The air felt incredibly tight and stretched, somehow. If pressed, Gerald would have described it as being pulled too hard in too many directions and about to snap. The moment before anything actually snapped, however, the light from the Emerald changed.

And Shadow had lost control.

As the hedgehog clutched the Emerald, the light around it seemed to solidify into sharp light-lances of some kind. Once the lances reached a certain length and diameter, they shot away from Shadow. Whatever they touched tended to explode. The lances took about three seconds to progress from formation to launch, and at least one lance was released every five seconds. Distance didn't seem to affect the severity of the damage inflicted, although the lances didn't seem to be of uniform power. Regardless, it had still been a terrifying sight, and everyone had fled after the very first lance.

Gerald drew a hand over his eyes. Thankfully, there were no casualties or even severe injuries, and as with the episode with the Biolizard, no expensive or hard-to-replace equipment had been in the lab at the time, but it would still take a long while to fix up again. They would have to use a different room for work and replace everything in the lab.

Taking priority over that, the scientist decided, was finding a way to keep Shadow from obliterating everything near him whenever he got ahold of a Chaos Emerald. If he had done that much damage with only one, it didn't bear thinking of what he could do with all seven.

He drew out a piece of paper and began taking notes. What Shadow needed would be restraints or limiters of some kind that would allow him to control how much energy he spent. Gerald had no doubt that the light-lances were some other manifestation of Shadow's power. If Shadow could control how powerful they were, perhaps he could study them...

He shook his head and focused on the task at hand. Finding out what those light-lances really were could wait. This was far more important.

Gerald stayed in his office for the rest of the day, then spent an additional night and day in one of his small private work rooms. By the time he left his quarters, his new inventions in hand, Shadow was nowhere to be found.

XIX

He was hiding.

Ever since the incident in the lab, Shadow had been hiding in the ARK's spire. No one would or could find him there, and he didn't want to face the others yet. He knew, without being told, that he could have badly injured or even killed someone that day. He didn't want to make another mistake and actually do so.

After only twenty four hours, however, he was feeling lonely. He hadn't been this secluded even at the beginning, when no one talked to him except to ask him questions about if he felt any change from the day before, or to tell him to stand here, sit there, hold this. At least then, he had still seen other people. And the inside of the spire was so dull, with absolutely nothing to look at.

Finally, he decided to go back to the main part of the colony. Maybe he would find an unused room and continue hiding there. He could always Chaos Control away if someone walked in on him. For some reason, after having touched the Chaos Emerald, he found it easier to Chaos Control. He didn't really have to think about it anymore, and somehow knew that no matter what he did with it, he was warping time and space simultaneously. In varying proportions, perhaps, but he would never again manipulate one without also twisting the other. Perhaps he would have been glad a few days ago, but now he just didn't care much. It wasn't worth the solitude.

Getting to his feet, he pictured the ARK's main common room. Within the next eye blink, he was there.

Unfortunately he was not alone. The Professor was already standing at the giant window-wall, gazing at the stars. Before Shadow could flee, however, the Professor called, "Wait, Shadow!" The hedgehog stayed where he was, uncertain. The Professor walked over. "I...apologize for yesterday," the man began. "I hadn't anticipated what might happen if I gave you that Emerald, and as a result we've scared each other quite badly." He hesitated, then held out the small sack he carried in one hand. "I made these for you."

Shadow took the sack and opened it. Peering in, he saw a pair of gloves, placed neatly on top of a pair of shoes. Both were mostly white, with black and red accents and gold rings around the wrist and ankle areas. He looked up at the Professor again, feeling confused. "For me?"

The Professor smiled. "Yes. I hope they will prevent any similar disastrous results if and when we ever experiment with the Chaos Emeralds again. Try those on, and then we'll see."

"I don't want to risk hurting anyone," Shadow muttered, not moving.

"If it bothers you that much, we'll be in separate but adjacent rooms, and don't pick up the Emerald until I signal you," the Professor reassured him. Shadow considered it, then nodded reluctantly. "Good boy. Now, put those on." He obeyed, wiggling his fingers as he got the gloves on. For some reason, the gold rings appeared to increase in radius when they slipped over his hands, then return to their original dimensions once they settled over his wrists. "So far so good," the Professor muttered, as though to himself. The man walked to the door to the common area and beckoned Shadow to go with him.

Several minutes later, Shadow was once again staring at the green Chaos Emerald, encased in its glass box. He glanced at the Professor, who had shut himself in the neighboring office. The man raised his eyebrows at him, then smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. Apprehensively, Shadow opened the case and removed the Emerald from it.

As before, nothing happened at first. He found the spark again and watched it, prepared to tear his gaze away if he felt anything. As before, it twinkled and flashed.

This time, however, there was no blaze of light or flood of confusing images. The Emerald continued to glow gently, and aside from a slight prickling sensation at the back of his head, Shadow didn't feel anything, either.

"Very good," the Professor called, his voice muffled by the door. "If you're feeling up to it, try doing what you did yesterday, but in a more controlled fashion, if you please. There's a few broken chairs you can practice on." Shadow stared at him.

"I don't know how I did it yesterday," he called back. "I don't even know _what_ I did."

"Remember how you used Chaos Control for the first time. Try and remember how you were feeling."

Shadow sighed and looked at the Emerald in his hands. What _had_ he felt? Nothing much, just that overwhelming pressure in his mind, then its sudden slackening when the Emerald's light changed colors. _Might as well try that, somehow._ He gazed intently at the Emerald, imagining himself taking some of its light and reeling it in, packing it into his hand. As he worked, he felt the pressure gradually return. When he had taken as much as he thought he could manage, he made a horizontal throwing motion at the nearest chair.

_Something_ flew from his hand and struck the chair squarely, causing it to explode. He flinched away, covering his eyes with one forearm. When the dust settled, there was nothing left of the chair except faintly smoking fragments, just like the chairs in the lab. He glanced at the window in the door. The Professor was smiling at him through it.

"_Very_ well done, Shadow," he was saying. "I think that's enough experimenting for now. Rest a while. Later, or perhaps tomorrow, we'll see the extent of what you can do with...that." He opened the door and beckoned to Shadow. The hedgehog went over to him, not quite used to _not_ feeling the floor under his feet anymore. "Do you want to name that?" the Professor suddenly asked.

"What? Name what?"

"The...attack you just used." The Professor polished his glasses. "I hate to say it, but this new power of yours seems to be purely offensive in nature. I cannot possibly think of a way it could be used constructively. So, I will continue to refer to it as an attack. But I do not wish to keep referring to it as 'that,' and I do not know of anyone having ever seen anything like it before. As its first known user, you should name it."

Shadow thought about it. "It...doesn't feel that different from my Chaos Control," he admitted. "I don't know for sure, but I think the two are tied together in some way." He looked up at the Professor. "I think I would like to call it Chaos Spear, because of what I felt and for how it looks."

"Good name," the Professor chuckled. "Now let's go find something to eat."

XX

Over the next few days, Shadow and Gerald worked together to piece together just what Chaos Spear did to objects it struck. Their findings weren't exactly conclusive, but Gerald had a hypothesis. Each light-lance caused multiple Chaos Controls in the object it hit, cycling it back and forth in both space and time. Nothing in the world could resist trauma like that; Gerald doubted if there was even anything in all of existence that could. Thus, the explosions.

Sometimes, Shadow threw Chaos Spears that cut through objects instead of destroying them. Neither of them could explain how the two types of Spear were any different. Visually, they were identical. It did, however, seem to have something to do with where they were aimed; a glancing shot tended to slice the target in two, while a straight-on blow usually destroyed it.

They also found out that Shadow was able to charge his spears, and that doing so for longer caused them to trigger more Chaos Control cycles upon their release (if that was indeed how the spears worked). Gerald was estimating three cycles for a spear that was not charged at all to upward of a hundred cycles for when Shadow couldn't hold onto a spear any longer without losing control as before. Shadow could still fire Chaos Spears if he didn't have a Chaos Emerald, but they were obviously more powerful if he did.

Gerald finally instructed Shadow to try removing one of the rings around his wrists during one session. At first, the hedgehog flatly refused. "Professor, these rings keep the Emerald from overpowering me like the first time, don't they?" he asked, his arms crossed over his chest. "I don't want to remove them, ever, if I might end up losing control again and hurting people."

"You've already been handling the Emerald for a week now," Gerald reminded him. "It's my belief that you were only overwhelmed by the Emerald because your body had never been exposed to its power before. Now, you're accustomed to handling it, storing it, and releasing it. It's time we tested the last function I made those rings for; to provide you with extra power whenever and wherever you need it."

Shadow sighed, unfolded his arms, and laid his right hand over his left wrist. "Just in case, please move back, Professor." As soon as Gerald had backed himself into a wall, Shadow twisted the ring and slid it off his hand. Setting it down, he then picked up the Chaos Emerald. He curled his left hand fingers into a fist, then straightened them again. Abruptly, he made a slashing motion at the far wall, where target boards had been placed.

The Chaos Spear he released was brighter and appeared more solid than all of his previous ones. The culminating explosion was likewise more spectacular. Shadow hurriedly put the Emerald down and slipped his wrist ring back on as the dust settled.

"Excellent!" Gerald exulted. "See, that didn't do anyone any harm." Shadow was gazing at the Emerald again. After a moment, he nodded, smiling a little ruefully.

"Any other functions in these gloves and shoes you haven't mentioned yet?" he asked.

Gerald paused. "Actually, yes." He gestured toward a chair, motioning for Shadow to sit, then seated himself in another chair nearby. "Take one of those off," he instructed the hedgehog, indicating his shoes. After Shadow had done so, Gerald took the shoe from him and flipped it over. "You see this?" He pointed at a nozzle in the sole of the shoe. There were a total of five of them, arranged in a straight line.

"What is that?" Shadow ran a finger down the row of nozzles.

"They're...I suppose you can call them exhaust ports of a sort," Gerald explained. "You can, with some practice, channel your power through it." He thought for a moment, then chose to clarify. "I've come to the conclusion that this power-I'll refer to it as Chaos energy, since it's linked to the Emeralds-is somehow naturally generated in your body, and this is why you can use Chaos Control on your own. It also seems to constantly replenish itself, although obviously if you use too much of it too quickly, you can exhaust yourself."

Shadow nodded, his eyes fixed attentively on the scientist's face. Gerald tapped the golden ring around the shoe he held. "These rings I gave you keep a limit on how much Chaos energy you use at once. Leave them on, and you'll almost never run out; the energy generated that you don't use is stored for later. Take the rings off, and you can use more of your energy at once, but risk consuming it all. The rings around your wrists are much stronger restraints than the ones on your ankles, as they're easier to remove in times of emergency. Since you don't appear to have a maximum limit to how much energy you can retain, it would be best if you wore all four rings as often as possible."

"I was planning to." Shadow was looking at the shoe he still wore. "But what about the nozzles?"

"Another way to burn your stored energy, if you don't choose to use it for something else," Gerald replied, shrugging. "I designed them to work somewhat like skates, but without wheels. I'd imagine you can use them to get somewhere in a hurry. I suppose if you tried hard enough, you could even hover off the ground, but I wouldn't recommend it. It'd be a waste of power." He returned Shadow's shoe to him and watched him put it back on. "Want to try them out?" The hedgehog nodded and got to his feet. "Ah, but not here," Gerald added quickly. "Try finding some large, spacious room; don't want you rocketing into a chair or a table and getting a concussion."

Shadow smiled again at his concern. "I'll do that." Casually, he walked out of the room. Gerald watched him leave, feeling satisfied, then left from another door. He had a report to write, possibly one of the last he would be sending. As far as he concerned, the project was a total success. Shadow was not only immortal in at least one aspect of the word, but he also had powers no one in the world had ever seen used before.

Gerald was satisfied for another reason, one he wouldn't confide to anyone else. His cannon had accepted power from the Chaos Emerald beautifully. He had tested every one of the seven special sockets that he had designed to hold the Emeralds, and every last one of them worked the way it should. If Black Doom and his army ever came calling with unkind intentions, the ARK and the Earth would be safe.

Whistling, Gerald opened his door-making a mental note to leave instructions for Shadow regarding the cannon's operation-and strode into his office.

Life was good.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3 - Maria

XXI

Gerald stood in front of a full-length mirror, adjusting his coat. He resettled his glasses on his nose, then picked up his briefcase from the desk and turned to leave the room. Maria waited in the doorway, flanked (as always) by Shadow. She looked disappointed. Gerald couldn't judge the hedgehog's expression as well, but it seemed the same as hers.

"Are you certain you absolutely must leave now?" Maria asked.

"I'm afraid so," Gerald told her reluctantly. "Shuttle rides from the ARK back to Earth always take so long, and they requested I join them tomorrow. I'll have to depart immediately if I'm to make it on time." He ushered both of them out of the room, and all three continued down a long hallway. "You two go on without me. I'm sure Shadow can think of more to show me by the time I return, in any case." The hedgehog chuckled, pleased by the comment.

"All right, then," Maria sighed, resignedly. "Take care, Grandfather. See you soon!"

"I hope you enjoy the meeting, Professor."

"Goodbye, Maria, Shadow. Have fun." The girl smiled, then reached toward Shadow, who took her hand and led her down a side hall. She waved back at him, then the two turned a corner and disappeared.

XXII

Gerald drummed his fingers against the briefcase on his lap, watching the stars flit by his window. He wondered idly what Maria and Shadow were doing. The hedgehog had learned the use of his new shoes with his usual speed and wanted to show Maria some of the things he could now do with them. He had asked Gerald if he wanted to see, too, but unfortunately the scientist had other matters to tend to. Business before pleasure.

Soon after he had sent in his final report on Project Shadow, Gerald had received a summons to a meeting back on Earth. This didn't surprise him. Some things were better understood when explained in person. His briefcase contained copies of the data his team had gathered about Shadow in the first few weeks of testing, and he had printed excerpts from his own notes detailing Shadow's abilities. Although he didn't know if he would need them, he also had a few photographs of Shadow, in case the others were curious about exactly what he looked like.

Outside, the blackness of outer space lightened to hazy gray-white, then pale blue. "We're almost there, sir," the pilot called. "Please prepare to disembark."

"Alright. Thank you." The scientist closed his window, checked once more that his briefcase had everything it should, then settled back into his seat to wait for the landing.

Several minutes later, the shuttled had maneuvered into a docking bay and come to a stop. Gerald freed himself from the safety harness, picked up his case, and exited the spacecraft. He made it as far as the terminal door before he stopped abruptly, confused and slightly alarmed.

He would have expected someone there to pick him up and perhaps ferry him to wherever he would be staying until he had to return to the ARK. He might have guessed some of the other attendees of the meeting might also be waiting to receive him. Instead, he saw the dark-suited man, his hands in his pockets, standing before a semicircle of armed GUN soldiers.

_GUN? What's GUN doing here?_

"Professor Gerald Robotnik." The dark-suited man's greeting was anything but welcoming. "We would like for you to come with us." As the scientist gaped at him, uncomprehending, he continued flatly, "You are under arrest for breaking your agreement with the government and creating weapons of mass destruction. You will be put under armed guard and escorted to Prison Island. You shall await your sentence there." He removed one hand from his pocket, gestured. The soldiers moved forward.

He stood completely still as they confiscated his briefcase and snapped cuffs around his wrists. He was entirely compliant when they led him to the car and directed him to the back seat. He remained totally mute as they drove, transferred him to an equally guarded ship, then left him in a small cell. He stared blankly around him, seeing but not seeing the narrow desk, the small chair, the barred window high up on the wall, the empty computer monitor perched on the desk.

Then he started thinking again. He sat in the chair, heavily, and stared at the door that he knew would be locked. _Why?_ he wondered, over and over. _Why why why?_ And then, unbidden, panic. He scrambled back to his feet and lurched toward the door, searching frantically for something. He eventually found a small speaker and pressed the button next to it. "Excuse me," he called, speaking rapidly. He tried not to let his voice shake. "Excuse me, excuse me."

"Yes?" the speaker crackled back. "We can hear you."

"What- Why am I here?"

"The government says you've been going back on your word and manufacturing weapons. Your official charge is treason." The answer was dull, dry, unconcerned. "They've sent people to the space colony. They're shutting it down. Everyone will be rounded up and returned to Earth. Your subordinates will be joining you here soon."

Gerald stared at the speaker, his mind on one thing. _Maria._

XXIII

Shadow circled the room, gradually increasing his speed. Maria was seated in a chair by the door, her hands in her lap, watching him.

He had realized very quickly that the hover skates (his own term for them) responded so well they might have just been part of his body. Using them was purely instinctual; he didn't have to think about it as he did with Chaos Control or Chaos Spear. He had indeed managed to use them to hover off the ground, against the Professor's advice, and learned that long, gliding strides worked better than actually running. If, that is, he planned to use the jet nozzles rather than treat his shoes as normal footwear.

Finally, as he began finishing a circuit of the room in less than ten seconds, he judged he was going fast enough. He glanced over at Maria, who smiled encouragingly (but a little nervously). Smiling back at her, he broke out of his circular path and headed straight for a wall. He heard Maria gasp.

Carefully-or as carefully as he could manage at that speed-he timed his strides in order to have one foot free the moment he reached the wall. The next thing either of them knew, he was running right up the wall, then continued onto the ceiling. He slowed down a little too much when he was nearly across it and dropped back to the floor. He hurriedly flipped himself in midair and landed on his feet, then straightened and dipped in a shallow bow.

Maria laughed, clapping. "Goodness, I didn't know you would try that," she giggled. "I don't know if you'd want to show Grandpa, though. He might-"

A buzzer alarm went off, cutting her short. They stared at each other, Maria with apprehension, Shadow with confusion. "What's going on?" he asked.

"It's an assembly call," she answered, getting out of her chair. He walked over to her. "When it sounds, it means something's wrong, and everyone has to go to the Colony's shuttle port in case we need to leave." She looked slightly frightened. Shadow took her hand and squeezed it gently, reassuring her.

"Well then, let's see what's going on," he suggested, leading her from the room. They hadn't gone far when the alarm turned off. They shared another brief glance, both confused this time. Then they heard the screams.

"Don't move!" one voice barked sharply. "Hands in the air!"

"Stop shrieking, woman," commanded another, impatient. "We won't shoot you if you don't resist." The screams subsided into quiet, terrified sobs. Doors banged open, somewhere out of sight, and more voices were raised in fear and alarm. Maria flinched. Another door was flung open, and suddenly they were there, spilling into the hallway, around six of them, helmeted and visored and armed with rifles

GUN soldiers.

The two of them froze, not sure what to do. One spotted them, turned to his fellows, said something. "That's it!" exclaimed a different soldier, pointing at Shadow. "That's the experiment, the so-called Ultimate Life Form."

"Capture it!" the tallest one ordered. "Preferably alive, although I don't mind dead." They advanced.

Shadow took two slow steps back, then turned and fled, bringing Maria with him.

XXIV

The two of them ran down the hallway, back the way they came, the hedgehog leading the girl by the hand. Behind them, in hot pursuit, were the GUN soldiers. The hallway was suddenly a corridor, with rounded walls. The entire left side of the corridor was transparent, showing stars and the Earth, looming blue white and green in the foreground.

Shadow was thinking hard as he ran. Ran, because Maria would never be able to keep up with him if he used his hover skates. So he ran, as though he wasn't wearing them.

He was debating whether to risk using Chaos Spear on the soldiers to delay them. For obvious reasons, the Professor had not tested the effects of Chaos Spear on living creatures. Not after seeing what it did to inanimate objects. Shadow knew that he could very will kill the soldiers if he attacked them.

He took a brief glance behind him. Maria was doing her best to keep up, gasping a little for breath. He frowned, worried, and considered slowing down just a little, but she caught his concerned gaze and shook her head. He returned his attention to the corridor in front of him. No, he wouldn't use Chaos Spear. Maria would not want that, would not want him hurting people that way, and he personally didn't feel like blowing people into pieces with her present.

Chaos Control, then? No, not that either. He'd never tried bringing anything with him, aside from what he was wearing. He didn't want to make Maria his first attempt.

Maria squeezed his hand. He looked at her again. She nodded at a door in the right wall, toward the end of the corridor that they were fast approaching. He altered their direction immediately. Cries went up from the soldiers behind them as they realized what they were doing. He stopped running, let go of Maria's hand, and faced them.

The soldiers froze, mid-stride, two yards from where he stood. Maria paused, unnerved. "Come on," Shadow beckoned to her, punching the entry code into the number pad next to the door. "Get in."

"What did you-?"

"I froze time around them. It's not going to hold for long." He tugged her toward the doors as they slid slowly open. "Get in." She hurried through the doorway. Shadow positioned himself before it, then flicked his hand at the number pad. A golden lancet struck it and exploded, sending a shower of sparks into the air. The doors beeped and began sliding closed. The hedgehog slipped quickly through them before they shut all the way. The moment they did, he heard the soldiers outside swear and begin hammering on the door.

Now there was no way into the room short of breaking the door down or hauling it open manually.

He looked around. Maria was leaning against some sort of control panel, catching her breath. They were in one of several emergency escape ports. The control panel in the middle of the room hummed gently, lights from dozens of buttons winking at him. The wall directly across from them was also glass, with the curve of Earth centered at the bottom edge. He wandered over to it and gazed out for a moment, then turned around.

"What now?" he asked. "If and when they get in here, we won't have anywhere to go." Maria straightened up, sighing.

"I don't know," she confessed. They stood in silence for a few seconds, both looking at Earth. A loud metallic clang made Maria jump and look back at the door.

"They're trying to break in," Shadow muttered, leaving his spot by the wall. As he walked behind Maria, he spotted her return her attention to the control panel and quickly jab something on it. A glass cylinder descended almost instantaneously, trapping him within it. He stopped walking before he ran into it, then looked down in alarm. He was standing at the edge of a large white circle, one of several that marked the locations of the escape pods around the room. "What are you doing?" he yelled, banging on the smooth inside surface with his fists.

Maria smiled faintly. "Those soldiers are coming after you," she reminded him, turning to face the pod. Her voice was muffled by the thick glass. "You have to get away."

"I'm not leaving you behind!" He backed up, calculating. Using a Chaos Spear at this range would probably injure him badly. It would also possibly send shards across the room. With Maria there, he wasn't willing to take any risks whatsoever.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Maria assured him. More sounds from the direction of the door. "You heard what they said earlier, to the others. As long as we don't resist, they won't hurt us."

"But..." He couldn't really think of an argument. Couldn't think very much at all, in fact.

She met his eyes and held them, suddenly serious. "Please, in my place, for all the people living on that planet-"

"Maria?"

Maria was still saying something, but the GUN soldiers outside had resumed their efforts at getting the door open. Over the clangs and banging, combined with the glass barrier between them, Shadow couldn't hear her. Instead, he kicked at the glass, cursing its resilience. The same toughness that enabled its occupants to survive in outer space also prevented him from breaking it.

"Maria, I'm telling you, I'm not going to-"

The door burst open.

XXV

Maria whirled around as the GUN soldiers filed rapidly into the room, adopting a tight semicircle in front of the doorway. She was standing between them and Shadow's escape pod. From within, he watched helplessly, his hands pressed to the glass as though he could somehow fall through it.

"Step away from the control panel, little girl," one of the soldiers ordered. He was the tallest one, the one seemingly in charge. "We don't want to hurt you. We just have some...business with the creature behind you."

"Hands in the air," another soldier added. The entire group had their rifles aimed at the two of them.

Maria looked at the soldiers, then resolutely turned to the control panel and reached for the release lever. "Don't do it!" Shadow pleaded, pounding his escape pod's walls. At the same time, the soldiers shouted warnings: "Don't mess with us, girl!" "Step away from there, now!" "We're not playing around here! Stop now or we'll shoot!" Maria ignored them all.

One soldier took a step forward, brandishing his weapon. "I'm warning you, girl-" There was a sharp crack, a crisp sound that sliced through the air and brought stifling silence in its wake. Maria cried out and jerked backward like something had struck her, clutching her waist.

Someone was screaming her name in a hysterical voice. It took Shadow a moment to realize it was himself.

The soldiers all stood stock still, stunned. Then they rounded on the bewildered man in front, berating him for firing on an innocent. "It was an accident," he protested wildly, his eyes huge. "I only meant to startle her-"

Shadow was staring in horror at Maria, who was holding onto the release lever with one bloodstained hand. The other was pressed over her stomach, where a crimson stain was slowly spreading. She looked up at him, forced a smile through her pain, and spoke one last time, strangely clear over the soldiers' clamor.

"Goodbye, Shadow the Hedgehog."

She yanked the lever down and collapsed. Shadow saw the soldiers start and run toward him, carefully avoiding Maria's prone form on the ground, but it was too late. He shot down into the darkness of space, surrounded by all sides by the carelessly winking stars.

He felt his legs give way, and he sank to his knees, staring blankly at his hands. Nothing. He had done nothing, nothing to save her, nothing to stop her from doing what she did. He hadn't even thought to Chaos Control out of the escape pod, and even if he had, he wouldn't have managed it. His mind was much too far gone in shock. The necessary focus, the concentration he still needed to use his power...he had lost it all the moment the escape pod's walls encased him, lost it to the fear he'd felt for Maria.

He raised his head, watching the ARK spiral away from him. _Maria..._

She was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4 - Gerald

XXVI

Gerald paced the length of his cell immeasurable times, worrying. It had been an entire day since he was arrested. No one was deciding to tell him anything: whether the ARK had been closed already, whether his subordinates had also been incarcerated...whether Maria was okay.

Finally, news came. The bored voice over the speaker informed him that someone had sent a summary to his computer. The scientist hurried to the machine and turned it on.

The report was brief. The ARK had been completely evacuated, everyone deported back to Earth. Some residents had protested and had to be coerced into cooperating. All of Gerald's assistants were sent to jail cells on Prison Island. There had been a few casualties among the residents due to excessive resistance; their names were listed on the last page.

Gerald found Maria Robotnik toward the end of that list.

His first reaction was disbelief. They must have made a mistake. Maria would still be fine. Waiting, perhaps, for him to join her again. Worrying about him. Yes, that had to be it.

He slumped in his seat and rested his head in his hands. No. No, there were no other Robotniks on the ARK aside from himself and Maria. He was here, in this cell, alive, which meant...

He had no doubt that this was his fault. He had agreed to take on Project Shadow. He had created the Ultimate Life Form. And because of that, he had lost the one reason for everything he did.

He remained seated in his chair for a long, long time, enveloped in crushing desolation.

XXVII

The flickering light of the computer screen was the only illumination in Gerald's cell. He bathed in its glow as he typed, perversely pleased with himself. Those imbeciles outside had no idea just how good he was with computers. Using the one in his room, he had accessed his files on the ARK's main computer, which were still intact. Presumably the GUN soldiers and whoever else had been sent up there had not been instructed to block him from the system. Well, they would regret it.

He had a plan. A plan that would likely not come to fruition within his lifetime, but that was an insignificant detail. It was a plan to avenge Maria's unjust, untimely death. Revenge for his dear granddaughter, so kind and so loving and so cruelly taken from the world. For that, he would do anything.

The Eclipse Cannon. The weapon he had developed and installed on the ARK. It would be the instrument for his triumph. He had made careful estimations, back when he was still on board the space colony. Powered by one Emerald, the cannon was powerful enough to demolish small meteors. If he could get all seven of the Chaos Emeralds, the results would be calamitous. Apocalyptic. Perfect.

But no, there was no one on the ARK to actually use the cannon. The targeting and firing mechanism was a very complex system. Not something he could write a program for, from this prison. So. Ram the Earth with the ARK. Gerald chortled, rubbing his hands together gleefully. With the Eclipse Cannon on board powered with all seven Emeralds, it would be akin to using a nuclear warhead on a large boulder. Nothing on either Earth or the ARK would be left alive.

He worked, all day and all night, forgoing sleep in favor of further developing his scheme. To ensure his program's success, he transmitted a brief video message to the Biolizard. It knew him as a father figure, and he knew it would be glad to obey his instructions. With something as lethal as the prototype Ultimate Life Form guarding the power source, no one would be able to turn it off.

The only problem was the Chaos Emeralds themselves. Certainly, even if he were ever allowed to leave his cell, he couldn't go searching for them on his own. The government wouldn't let him. Not that they would even let him out of his cell; he'd learned that he had been given the death sentence, to be carried out in five days. Without the Chaos Emeralds, his plan would not work.

He was in the midst of deliberating over how to solve this problem when the speaker by the door crackled. He glared at it, angered by the interruption. How dare those fools disrupt his thinking! What the voice told him, however, caught his attention. "We've found your protege," it said, sounding slightly amused.

Gerald got out of his chair and walked over. "What protege?" he asked.

"Your so-called Ultimate Life Form. They're bringing it to Prison Island tomorrow morning. Found it stranded by a beach, sitting by the cliff." The voice chuckled. "It's being quite agreeable at the moment, but..." A note of concern crept into the voice. "We haven't yet...informed it that it's to be either executed or sealed into stasis."

Gerald stood very still, his mind racing. _Shadow._ Yes, of course. The last piece of the puzzle. He allowed himself a savage grin. "You won't be able to kill him," he informed the voice confidently. "I did create him to be immortal." The voice scoffed, but he ignored it. He spoke hesitantly, as if he were unsure. "If...it could be arranged for me to speak to him, privately, I could convince him it's for the best. That he be sealed away. He trusts me."

"That may be so, but _we_ don't trust you." The speaker was silent for a long while. Gerald nearly returned to his computer when the voice spoke again. "But we see no harm in allowing you a little fun before your death. You have an hour tomorrow. Even if we won't be listening, we _will_ be watching, and if either of you show signs of aggression..." The voiced trailed off. "Let's just say your execution would be moved up by half a week."

"I understand." Gerald kept his voice resigned, meek, but inside he was jubilant. How ironic, how symmetrical, that the very same humans he was planning to eradicate would provide him with the perfect way to do so.

XXVIII

Shadow sat in his chair, his feet dangling several centimeters above the floor. He wasn't sure why GUN had decided to put him in this small white-walled room, occupied by only two chairs. He wasn't sure if he really cared why, either.

The door opened. He looked up, then jumped off his seat when the Professor walked in. A soldier unlocked his handcuffs, reminded him, "Remember, one hour," then left and shut the door again. The Professor walked slowly toward him, lowering himself into the vacant chair without comment.

"Professor," Shadow blurted. "You're okay."

"Yes." The Professor looked up at him. "Physically, at least." Shadow knew what he meant. He climbed back into his own chair, not wanting to meet the man's eyes.

"I'm sorry," he finally said in a tiny voice. "It was my fault Maria-"

"No!" Shadow jerked and glanced at the Professor in surprise. The scientist gazed back at him, his eyes wild. "No," he repeated gently, his expression softening. "You're not to blame."

"But..." Shadow looked at his hands. "I was right there, and I could have used Chaos Control to get her out of- No, that's not it." He shook his head. "The only reason the soldiers were there at all was because of me. They only wanted me, and if I wasn't there, or if I had just gone with them, Maria wouldn't have been..." He realized he was talking too quickly and stopped.

"It wasn't your fault," the Professor said again. "We were...all in the wrong place at the wrong time." His voice became fierce. "The culprits are the humans."

"The humans?" Shadow was confused by the Professor's use of the word, as though he weren't one himself.

"Yes, the humans." The Professor held his head in his hands, speaking in a low voice. "The ones in power, the government, the military. They learned what you could do, and they became afraid of you. They thought you would turn against them. And so, they did the only thing they could, the spineless cowards." He paused, took a breath. "They took Maria away from you. They knew how close you were to her. They thought killing her would leave you so desolate you would never bother them."

Shadow was silent. There had to be something wrong with what the Professor was saying...but he didn't know what. It made so much sense. And this was the Professor. He wouldn't lie to him, would he?

"Shadow, do you want revenge?"

"What?" He looked up, startled again.

"Revenge. On the humans. Pay them back for what they did to you." The Professor raised his head to look at him. "For what they did to _us_."

Shadow thought about it. It was tempting. "But...the soldier... He was mortified by what he did," he protested weakly.

"An act," the Professor declared, waving a hand dismissively. "It's what they want you to think. Don't be fooled by them, Shadow. They're trying everything they can to get rid of you. In fact, after our talk here, they say they're going to seal you away, never to be free again."

Shadow sat up straight, indignant. "But I never did anything to them!"

"Yes, and that's unfair, isn't it? That's why. That's why we need to let them know just who they're dealing with." The Professor smiled, but there was no joy in it. "You're the _Ultimate Life Form._ You're a far more advanced being than they are. They're insects under your feet. Who are they to decide what to do with your life? You'll outlive every single last one of them."

Shadow shook his head, not in denial. That _did_ make sense. "What revenge were you thinking of, Professor?"

"Annihilation," came the simple reply. "Wipe out the entire population."

Shadow stared at him in horror. "But...what about the people not in the government or military?" he asked when he was able to speak again. "The...civilians. The children. They didn't do anything."

"Oh, but they will." The Professor's eyes were alight with anger. "Give any of them enough power, give them enough time, and they all act the same way. Where do you think they find replacements for people in the government or military when they get too old?"

He hadn't thought of that. "...Did they really kill Maria just to try getting rid of me?" he wanted to know.

"Without a doubt," the Professor replied firmly.

That decided him. No matter what other reasons the Professor might have, this was the most important. He had been alive for less than a year, but he already knew that by human standards, Maria had been extremely young. She had suffered from an illness that kept her from normal interaction with other people. She had probably been very lonely for most of her life. And then, just because these government and military people didn't want him around, they killed her.

That, in his opinion, was unforgivable.

"Did you have a specific plan in mind, Professor?" he inquired, his eyes narrowing.

"I believe you recall the cannon we built into the ARK?" The Professor seemed smug. "It's designed to be powered by Chaos Emeralds. You know how much power is in a single Emerald, as you experienced it firsthand." He leaned back in his chair. "The cannon can be powered by _seven_."

Brilliant. "So all we have to do is break out and-" he began to say.

"Unfortunately, no." The Professor looked glum now. "We both know I wouldn't be able to keep up with you, and they would easily recapture me. I'm afraid this is completely up to you." They stared at each other in silence for a moment. "This...will be difficult. And you will have to be very patient."

He had all of eternity to be patient. "What do I need to do?"

"Let them seal you away." The Professor held up a hand to forestall any protests. "It's only a temporary measure. Let them think they have you, locked away, and begin feeling safe. Then, someday, you'll break out." The Professor's eyes were focused on something distant and intangible, almost dreamy. "They'll be in turmoil, now that you, the feared Ultimate Life Form, is loose again. And while they're panicking, search for the Chaos Emeralds. When all seven have been placed into the cannon, my plan will reach it's final stage."

"Which is?"

"I've written a program. Once the Emeralds are gathered, it will take over all of the ARK's systems. It will set a collision course with the Earth, one that cannot be stopped. The cannon will have enough stored energy to obliterate most of the planet, and the remnants will not survive for long." The Professor looked at Shadow. "What do you think?"

"Perfect," he replied. The Professor nodded, pleased.

"One more thing. You said you couldn't use Chaos Control to save Maria. Why?"

Shadow dropped his gaze again, uneasy. "I was too afraid for her. I couldn't focus enough."

"We can't have that happening again," the Professor told him. "You need to learn to suppress your emotions, so that you can use your powers at any time, in any situation, regardless of how you feel. Can you do that?"

"If I can't already, I will soon."

The Professor sat, regarding him for a while. "It may be decades before you can carry out our plan. You would have to wait tens of years, possibly even hundreds, to taste the sweetness of revenge. Will you still do it? For the both of us, and for Maria?"

Vaguely, he remembered a conversation he once had with Maria. It had been during his and the Professor's research on Chaos Spear. She had found him, standing alone in the ARK's common room, gazing out through the glass. He was looking at Earth. She had remarked that he seemed to watch the planet often. He had confided to her that he still didn't know why he had been created, and that perhaps someday, if he visited Earth, he would learn the reason.

He was there now, and he knew his answer.

"Yes," he said. And the Professor smiled.

XXIX

Gerald watched from the balcony, gazing down at the small chamber below. Two gunmen were leading Shadow to the stasis unit, their weapons pointing at his head. Outwardly, he looked no different than he had before their conversation that morning; still quiet, still acquiescent. But Gerald knew better. He knew the burning hatred now smoldering within that subdued shell, knew that the suspended animation he was about to enter would only fuel that loathing.

The gunmen stopped walking. One of them said something, gestured with his gun. Shadow looked at his escorts, around the room at the other soldiers around the perimeter. Then he looked farther up, to the balcony, and caught Gerald's gaze.

Once, he would have flinched, shied away from the incredible malice in those eyes. Before Maria was killed, before they lost everything, he would have felt ashamed of himself for using Shadow this way, for turning such an innocent creature into a weapon against the entire world. But now... Now they were kin, closer than before, bound together by their bereavement. He met those eyes, those cold, crimson eyes, and all he felt was satisfaction.

Shadow lowered his gaze and climbed into the stasis pod. He lay himself down in it, folding his hands over his chest, and stared at the ceiling as soldiers busied themselves around the machine. Gerald turned away, pretending he didn't want to see any more.

"You exceeded your permissions with that one," the dark-suited man told him. He was leaning against the doorway, watching Gerald's reaction. The scientist gazed back, silent. "We requested you create an immortal being. We did _not_ authorize also giving it abilities no one in the world understands. It's far too dangerous for us to disregard its existence." The man raised an eyebrow. "But I think you know that already."

Gerald glanced behind him. Already, the soldiers were leaving. The stasis unit hummed gently, a faint drone in the background. Shadow was gone, obscured from sight, sealed away for the next however many decades. Once he got out, which he eventually would, there would be hell to pay.

Gerald returned his attention to the dark-suited man. "Yes. I know."

XXX

"This is my declaration of vengeance on all of humanity." Gerald spoke in a low monotone, his eyes fixed on the floor between his feet. He was sitting chained to a chair, his arms behind him. "In 27 minutes and 53 seconds, the ARK will collide with the Earth, and all of you will be destroyed together. Once the seven Chaos Emeralds have been gathered, my revenge begins. The program cannot be stopped. All of you foolish humans should taste the same hopelessness I have." He fell silent.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Gerald raised his head and looked at them. At the row of gunmen, their rifles in their hands, ready to take his life. At the unarmed man standing behind them, who would be giving the order to fire. At the gleam of the camera lens over their heads, from which eventually the entire world would be seeing his last moments.

Fools. All of them. They had no idea what they had done. They had no idea what was coming, what was in store for them. He could tell. From the casual manner of the executioner before him, from the bored expressions of the gunmen, they thought his last words only the rambles of a madman, with no truth or future impact behind them.

Fools. Let them live on in ignorance. Let them fail to understand the severity of their situation. Even if they killed him now, there would be no difference in their fate. For the crime they had committed, they would not walk away unscathed. It didn't matter when their judgment came. He simply knew that it would. And because he knew, he would die without regret.

Gerald looked at them.

And he smiled.

"No."


End file.
